Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest response figures are for ambulances responding to emergencies (a) in total and (b) broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The figures requested, which represent the performance of the Scottish Ambulance Service in July 2004, are listed in the following tables:

  Boards where Priority Based Dispatch is in operation (the Ambulance Service is working towards reaching the Category A target by March 2008):

  

NHS Boards

Category A
Category B
Doctor’s Urgent


Achievement against 75% in 8 mins
Achievement against 95% in either 14/19/21 mins (dependant on population density)
Achievement against 95% within 15 mins of agreed time


Argyll and Clyde
49.1%
93.9%
92.0%


Ayrshire and Arran
55.0%
95.6%
88.5%


Borders
60.5%
93.7%
94.8%


Dumfries and Galloway
48.5%
89.5%
89.1%


Fife
62.4%
95.6%
97.9%


Forth Valley
54.0%
95.2%
98.7%


Grampian
70.5%
96.6%
99.7%


Greater Glasgow
51.7%
87.3%
79.8%


Highland
61.7%
91.8%
99.9%


Lanarkshire
41.8%
95.7%
90.3%


Lothian
60.6%
98.0%
95.9%


Tayside
65.6%
95.3%
95.4%


Scotland (PBD)
56.3%
93.8%
92.5%



  Non-Priority Based Dispatch Boards

  

Health Board
Emergency
Emergency
Doctor’s Urgent


Achievement against 50% in 8 mins
Achievement against 95% in 21 mins
Achievement against 95% within 15 mins of agreed time


Orkney
40.9%
86.4%
100.0%


Shetland
50.0%
81.8%
100.0%


Western Isles
54.8%
91.7%
100.0%


Scotland (non PBD)
51.7%
89.1%
100.0%

Child Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what national guidelines have been issued regarding the restraint of children when a party is acting in loco parentis; what duty there is on local authorities or other agencies to issue such guidelines; which local authorities and agencies have done so, and what monitoring is done in relation to the implementation of such guidelines.

Peter Peacock: The Executive has commissioned guidance on restraint from the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care, which is due to be published before the end of the year. Currently all residential care services children are required to have a written restraint policy according to the National Care Standards, and the Care Commission inspect twice yearly inspection against those standards. Monitoring is through that regular inspection process.

Communication Impairment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken within the diversity and equality strategy for NHSScotland to ensure that the needs of people with communication impairment other than sensory impairment are being met, for example those with aphasia, dyspraxia, dysarthria, semantic-pragmatic disorder and dysfluency.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9910 on 30 August 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Dentistry

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental vocational training places were filled this year and, of those places, how many were funded.

Mr Tom McCabe: From 1 August 2004, 114 new vocational dental practitioners were recruited to join schemes in Scotland. Adding the eight individuals who started in 2003, and who are undertaking vocational training over two years, there are 122 trainees in post.

  All places are fully-funded.

Digital Hearing Aids

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how successful NHS boards have been in meeting unmet need for digital hearing aids in their own areas.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9949 on 6 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to improve Scotland’s ranking of 38th out of 60 national and regional economies in the recent IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook for conditions in our macro-economic domestic economy.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to improve Scotland’s ranking of 39th out of 60 national and regional economies in the recent IMD World Competitiveness Yearb ook for the extent to which government policies were conducive to the competitiveness of the economy.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to reduce the gap of 16.05% between Scotland’s score of 62.026 and the United Kingdom’s score of 72.186 as set out in the recent IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook .

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, what new steps it will take to help Scotland close the competitiveness gap on the rest of the United Kingdom and Estonia in light of the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook and the Robert Huggins Associates report, The European Competitiveness Index .

Mr Jim Wallace: Improvements in Scotland’s competitiveness fundamentally depend on raising productivity in the private and public sectors.

  As outlined in the recently published Framework for Economic Development in Scotland, the Executive’s efforts to raise productivity centre on education and raising skills in the workforce, improving public infrastructure, fostering entrepreneurial dynamism, supporting innovation and investment in research and development, and increasing the effectiveness in the management of public sector resources.

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the recent IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook which stated that the United Kingdom was 16.05% more competitive than Scotland, what new steps it will take to quantify the gap in competitiveness between Scotland and London and the south east of England and to use such data to influence Her Majesty’s Government’s policy in respect of levelling the UK economic "playing field".

Mr Jim Wallace: The measure of competitiveness in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook is a weighted index of several indicators. From this only a ranking of countries and regions can be inferred. It does not measure the absolute size of a competitiveness gap.

  The Executive interprets productivity (in terms of output per hour worked) as the primary indicator of Scotland’s competitiveness. As outlined in the recently published Framework for Economic Development in Scotland, the Executive’s efforts to raise productivity centre on education and raising skills in the workforce, improving public infrastructure, fostering entrepreneurial dynamism, supporting innovation and investment in research and development, and increasing the effectiveness in the management of public sector resources.

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what new steps it will take to increase Scotland’s "freedom to compete", in light of the Fraser Institute of Canada’s report, Economic Freedom of the World - 2004 Annual Report .

Mr Jim Wallace: The report only provides an assessment of the UK position, which is ranked third, together with New Zealand, Switzerland and the US, behind Hong Kong and Singapore. This high ranking is encouraging, and represents a considerable improvement since 1980, when the UK was ranked 21st.

  The report suggests that the UK could do better by removing obstacles for new business. The Executive works to ensure that all regulations are fit for purpose. In particular, for regulations which impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector, the use of the regulatory impact assessments is designed to guarantee that regulations are proportionate, necessary and fit for purpose when they are introduced and that they remain so over time. The Executive’s improving regulation unit works closely with businesses and their representative organisations ensuring that their needs, particularly small firms, are kept to the forefront of policy making throughout the Executive.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have to travel outwith their own NHS board area for renal dialysis, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information is set out in the following table.

  

NHS Board Area
Total no. of Patients on Hospital Haemodialysis
Patients Treated Outwith own NHS Board Area


Argyll and Clyde
105
42


Ayrshire and Arran
95
12


Borders
18
8


Dumfries and Galloway
47
*


Fife
87
11


Forth Valley
69
13


Glasgow
280
*


Grampian
141
*


Highland
70
*


Lanarkshire
166
28


Lothian
202
*


Tayside
108
*


No NHS Board reported**
37
-


Scotland
1,425
114



  Source: Scottish Renal Registry.

  Notes:

  *Indicates figure of five or fewer. Also on grounds of patient confidentiality, the Island NHS Boards have not been included because of the very small patient numbers.

  **NHS board of residence is derived from the patient’s postcode. The postcodes of 37 patients were missing. It is not possible to determine if these patients are receiving haemodialysis in their own NHS board area.

  Patients may dialyse in a unit outwith their board of residence either for reasons of capacity or because they have chosen, for work or personal reasons, to attend such a unit.

Health

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what strategy it has for reducing the incidence of osteoporosis amongst women.

Malcolm Chisholm: At present there is no strategy specifically to reduce incidence of osteoporosis in women. However, the Executive's measures to improve lifestyle, generally, by encouraging people to eat healthily, stop smoking, exercise sensibly, and if they drink alcohol to do so in moderation should, in time, help reduce the risk of some people developing the condition.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be allocated by Communities Scotland to assist the Cairngorms National Park Authority in the provision of affordable housing.

Ms Margaret Curran: Communities Scotland funding is allocated on an annual basis. Funding that is being directed to housing projects within the Cairngorm National Park area in this financial year is £1.58 million.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that (a) fully and (b) non-fully mutual housing co-operatives are able to obtain charitable status.

Ms Margaret Curran: In the draft Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill we propose that any individual organisation meeting the charity test, by both having charitable purposes and being able to demonstrate that it provides a public benefit, will be eligible for charitable status. Granting charitable status to a category or class of charities, such as housing co-operatives, would involve a presumption of public benefit and would negate the value of having the public benefit test.

Learning Difficulties

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether adults with profound learning difficulties combined with health problems will have the choice to either live in their own home in the community or remain in residential care units and homes when the recommendations in The same as you? are fully implemented.

Mr Tom McCabe: The same as you? does not seek the closure of residential care units and homes. The aim in The same as you? is for the closure of long-stay hospital provision for people with learning disabilities by the end of 2005, so that no-one has a hospital as his/her home. We remain committed to that target.

Learning Difficulties

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, when the recommendations in The same as you? are fully implemented, adults with profound learning difficulties or with learning difficulties combined with health and/or behavioural problems will be required to move into the community to live in their own home with appropriate housing, care, treatment and support if they currently live in residential care facilities that provide such care, treatment and support and such a move is against the wishes of their carers and/or relatives.

Mr Tom McCabe: There is nothing in The same as you? that requires the closure of residential care facilities that provide care, treatment and support for adults with profound learning difficulties or with learning difficulties combined with health and/or behavioural problems.

Medical Research

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9595 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, whether Schedule 2, or any other part of The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations, covers clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances on healthy volunteers.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 apply only to clinical trials of medicinal products. Substances falling outwith that definition would, therefore, not be in covered by the Regulations. The definition of "medicinal product" is set out in section 2 of the Regulations.

Medical Research

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9588 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, which UK health and safety regulations apply to healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances at Inveresk research laboratories.

Malcolm Chisholm: The regulation of Health and Safety is a matter reserved to Westminster. However, I understand that trials of the kind carried out at Inveresk Laboratory are regulated under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations.

Medical Research

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9588 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, whether the informed consent, with full information given about treatment, of healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances at Inveresk research laboratories is required under UK health and safety regulations.

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9588 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, what information it has on how many times in each year since 1995 the Health and Safety Executive has visited Inveresk research laboratories, on which records relating to clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances on healthy volunteers were inspected on each occasion and on what monitoring has been carried out by the Health and Safety Executive of volunteers who have participated in clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances to assess long-term health effects.

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9588 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, whether the controls to protect healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances at Inveresk research laboratories are equivalent to those in England and Wales, such as those accepted or implemented by the (a) Health Protection Agency and (b) Health and Safety Laboratory.

Malcolm Chisholm: UK health and safety matters are reserved to Westminster.

Medical Research

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9592 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, who holds the information on who the members are of the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is held by Inveresk Research Ltd.

Medical Research

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9594 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, whether the informed consent, with full information given about treatment, of healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances is required under the Clinical Trials Directive.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Clinical Trials Directive, which was transposed into UK law by The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004, addresses clinical trials of medicinal products (that will include some non-pharmaceutical substances) and requires fully informed consent.

Medical Research

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9594 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, what criteria under the Clinical Trials Directive (a) NHS and (b) non-NHS ethics committees have to fulfil before they can be given type (1) recognition by the United Kingdom Ethics Committee Authority.

Malcolm Chisholm: The criteria applicable to all committees are set out in Regulation 7 of, and Schedule 2 to, The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical trials) Regulations 2004. Committees recognised solely for the purpose of Phase 1 trials, however, are not required to meet the provisions set out in Schedule 2 until 1 May 2005.

Medical Research

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-9592 and S2W-9593 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, whether the (a) Ethics Committee Authority or (b) Central Office for Research Ethics Committees holds (i) the list of members of the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research and (ii) declarations of interests of those members.

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-9592 and S2W-9593 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004, what information it has on when the (a) United Kingdom Ethics Committee Authority and (b) Central Office for Research Ethics Committees have requested from the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research (i) a list of their members and (ii) declarations of interests of those members.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information has not been requested nor is it held by UK Ethics Committee Authority or Central Office Research Ethics Committees.

NHS Boards

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the overall budget of NHS Argyll and Clyde is spent in each of its three local operating divisions.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive monitors the financial performance of NHS boards on a board wide basis. It is for each NHS board to allocate resources to operating divisions. This information is not held centrally in the format requested.

NHS Boards

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual budget deficit for NHS Argyll and Clyde was for 2003-04; what the estimated budget deficit is for 2004-05 and how this figure has been derived, and what the effect will be of any savings to reduce this deficit.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Argyll and Clyde reported a financial deficit of £35.4 million in 2003-04. This position includes a brought forward deficit of £9.6 million from the previous financial year, 2002-03.

  NHS Argyll and Clyde are currently forecasting in-year financial deficit of £25.4 million for 2004-05 which will result in a cumulative deficit of £60.8 million. This assumes that the board will make savings of £14 million during the course of the year.

  The above figures have been derived by NHS Argyll and Clyde. The overall financial position is determined by the interrelationship between a number of factors, principally achievement of income assumptions, expenditure against budgets, and the impact of savings plans.

Prison Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-8489 and S2W-8491 by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 and 9 June 2004 respectively, whether all Scottish Prison Service institutions have access to, and provide, speech and language therapy services, given that 70% of young offenders have problems with poor literacy and numeracy.

Malcolm Chisholm: All prisoners in Scottish Prison Services Institutions have access to health services on a basis equivalent to NHS provision. Access to specialist services such as speech and language therapy are available based on individually assessed needs, in accordance with local arrangements. It is for NHS boards to determine the level of service for its population, including the provision of all specialist services to patients who are prisoners in their area.

Renewable Energy

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to use underground cables as transmission lines for wind farms.

Lewis Macdonald: We are not aware of any plans to use underground transmission lines, but it is for the transmission companies involved to decide how best to meet the needs of their customers.

Renewable Energy

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive who will meet any capital and additional revenue costs of using underground cables for wind farm output transmission.

Lewis Macdonald: Capital costs associated with installing and maintaining the electricity transmission infrastructure fall to be met in the first instance by the electricity transmission companies. The activities of these monopoly companies are regulated and the Office for Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) has to be satisfied that the investment is necessary before the costs can be recovered from consumers.

Renewable Energy

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out, and what information it has, on the cost differentials between overland and underground high voltage transmission lines for wind farm output.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has carried out no specific research into the cost differentials between overhead and underground high voltage electricity transmission lines. However, in December 2003 a report to the European Commission entitled Undergrounding Electricity Lines in Europe reported the following cost differential factors in European countries :

  

 
Construction Cost Factor for Undergrounding at 380/400kV


Austria
8


Denmark
7.2


France (rural)
10


Italy
5.9


Norway
6.5


UK (National Grid)
15-25



  Costs are subject to many variable factors including the technology employed and the nature of terrain involved. The report suggested that a construction cost factor of 15 for a 400 kilovolt underground line could reduce to 7-12 owing to lower operational costs over its lifetime. It was also estimated that undergrounding 25% of the high voltage and extra high voltage network in the UK would increase the cost of electricity by 3-5%.